


Battle Scars

by kindredghosts



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Alternate Canon, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Compliant, Canon Divergent, Canon Universe, Comfort/Angst, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Forehead Touching, Gentle Kissing, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Post-Canon, Sad with a Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:21:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27220384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kindredghosts/pseuds/kindredghosts
Summary: In the book Winter, during the final battle to overthrow Levana and help Cinder to take back the throne, Scarlet is separated from her friends. She is fighting alone when a thaumaturge slips into her mind and manipulates her to attack her comrades.This is an alternate re-imaging of this scene (and the outcome) in which Wolf isn't able to get to Scarlet in time to stop her from killing the woman the thaumaturge was controlling Scarlet to attack. Scarlet struggles with Survivor’s Guilt and Wolf has to come to her rescue in the sweetest of wolf-boy ways, or as I like to think of it: The Big Bad Wolf becomes a teddy bear.
Relationships: Scarlet Benoit/Wolf | Ze'ev Kesley
Kudos: 9





	Battle Scars

**Author's Note:**

> Here I come 5 Years Late With Starbucks in hand! (wow even my meme is an old reference, lol)
> 
> To reiterate, there was a scene during the climactic battle when most of our main cast is separated from each other. Scarlet is fighting against a thaumaturge who has slipped into her mind and is manipulating her to attack her comrades. I was kinda disappointed when Wolf stopped her time, because I thought it was a missed opportunity to explore how these characters could comfort each other after the horrific events they experienced on Luna, and well, I'm also a sucker for angst especially when it's angst/comfort. So here it goes!

* * *

“Get away from me!” Scarlet screeched, her throat raw.

A kind looking woman was dragging an injured man away from the battle. Her arms bore the fresh wounds of ripped and torn flesh caused by the teeth of a soldier from the Queen’s army, and she looked so very _tired_.

“Please, _run!_ ” Scarlet begged.

The woman’s eyes grew wide with understanding and scrambled to move out of Scarlet’s way but her body shifted uneasily and she tripped and there wasn’t enough time and - Scarlet’s hands twitched against the thaumaturge’s control, but still she raised the axe above her head. Words were halted in her throat as she was no longer allowed to speak, but they were ricocheting inside her skull as she cried “ _Sorry, sorry, I’m so very sorry!_ ”

Her axe swung down and with a sickening squelch lodged itself into the woman’s stomach. 

With a sucking slurp Scarlet removed her axe. 

Her lips quivered as the weight of what she had just done threatened to bury her alive and she nearly choked on nausea.

Dragging her axe towards the next target of the thaumaturge’s discretion, she felt arms wrapping around her, gripping her tight, holding her in place, they were squeezing her shoulder, urging her to wake up. Telling her it was only a nightmare and-

Scarlet woke up to green eyes peering at her in the dark. Wolf was pressing her arms to her sides. Now that she was no longer lashing out from the nightmares he relaxed his hold and with a gentle motion of his thumb brushed away the tears streaming down her cheeks. He searched her eyes once more and leaned in close to kiss her above the eye. 

_A dream_ , she thought.

But it wasn’t.

She removed the blankets and got out of bed.

* * *

Scarlet was strong and that was one of the many things Wolf admired about her. 

However, her strength reinforced her stubbornness and when paired with the guilt she carried it made her nearly impossible to reason with. The nightmares plagued her, continuously making her relive that terrible moment. 

Wolf had later hunted down that thaumaturge.

Scarlet sat on the ledge of the farmhouse roof, knees tucked under her chin, red locks fluttering against her neck in the gentle late winter breeze.

Wolf stepped out carefully onto the roof, making sure to avoid a patch of loose and aging tiles. He held out a steaming mug. 

"I brought you hot chocolate."

Scarlet took it from him and drew the mug close to her chest, staring up at the stars. Tonight the moon was obscured by clouds and for that Wolf was relieved. Without the glare of the moon shining down on them they could at least feel removed from the events that happened on Luna. 

Scarlet brought the steaming drink to her nose breathing in the scent of oogy chocolate. She blew on it, a puff of her breath hovering in the air as she took a slow sip.

"Thank you Ze'ev." She had stopped calling him Wolf for a while now but it still made his heart stir. 

Scarlet swirled the liquid inside the mug causing pieces of chocolate to rise to the surface. "How did you make this?" Squinting at the drink then at him. "Did you melt a chocolate bar into hot water?"

He nodded. She was silent for a moment then left out an airy chuckle. "That's one way to do it!"

"Isn't that...? I mean- how are you supposed to make it?"

"There’s a product we Earthen’s invented called 'hot chocolate powder'! Do you not have _fancy_ stuff like this on Luna?"

He watched the clouds above. They probably did, but he had never came across it before. There was so much common knowledge that wasn't common for him, being conscripted at such a young age.

“Oh crud, I’m sorry Ze'ev. I didn't mean it like that,” she said quietly.

“It’s ok,” he said. “I got the recipe from Thorne, but in hindsight it seems he was messing with me.”

"Haha well, this is pretty good! Add a splash of fresh farm milk and this would be a real delicacy! Of course all of the chocolate would have to be melted and mixed in next time..." She trailed off. She reached for his hand and laced their fingers together.

“Thank you, it means a lot.” She rested her head on his shoulder and they watched the twinkling sky. A shooting star streaked across the sky.

* * *

Nightmares. He pulled her closer. Her body stretched against the length of him. His chin buried into her hair, her face pressed against his chest. Scarlet could hear his heartbeat. Strong, steady, solid. It was wonderfully calming. Then images of arms torn to shreds by teeth invaded her mind’s eye, an axe coming down, and the woman, bloodied with hollowed eyes reached out towards her-

"It wasn't your fault," he said firmly, gripping her wrists and pulling them away from where she was scratching them down her cheeks.

Scarlet couldn’t hear Wolf. She thought of the woman. She would never again hear the heartbeat of a loved one. Never experience anything life had to offer again. Never smell hot chocolate. Never gaze at the night sky. Never, never, never. Scarlet still could experience those things and the guilt enveloped her. A bead of sweat trickled down her temple. Wolf wiped it away and held her face in his large and calloused hands. “Talk to me, it’ll help.”

Scarlet fumbled through articulating her inner dialogue. "I can still feel the way her body fell limp when I pulled out my axe."

"It wasn't your fault," Wolf repeated.

"Do you think I could ever be forgiven?"

"She knew the risks coming into a battlefield. That she could be controlled. That her comrades could have been used as weapons against her." He reminded her.

"I tried to warn her."

"If anything it was my fault. I wasn't there in time to stop you. To save you from this grief."

“No Ze’ev, this isn’t on you.”

“Then it’s not on you either! You were being controlled. You were like a puppet to that thaumaturge. Anything he did through you, was still _his doing_ . And _all_ the blame lies with him.” He wanted to release her from these haunting thoughts.

“I just can’t forget,” she argued.

“I was a trained soldier and killed for Levana. I can’t forget either, but we can move on. Be each other’s strength,”

“and take it one day at a time.” She finished. Being each other’s strength was a line she often used on him when he was suffering a guilty conscience.

“That’s right.” He rested his forehead against hers and curled their hands together against his chest. He softly hummed lullabies to her that Maha used to sing to him as a child. 

* * *

Wolf found her out in the gardening shed, her figure hunched over a workbench, a hammer thudding against two blocks of wood.

“What are you building?” Wolf asked as he stepped over the threshold into the shed. He tapped the light switch, swiping his finger to raise the brightness of the overhead lights. Sunset was approaching and set the shed aflame with rich colour but that was nothing in comparison to the setting sun creating a wildfire of her curly hair. He strode up behind her and took a lock of hair between fingers and then cleared a spot at the nape of her neck to kiss.

A happy shiver ran down Scarlet’s back. She reached behind her to stroke the side of his face and tipped her head back to plant a kiss on his nose.

“I’m building a birdhouse. I know that on Luna we held a memorial service for the fallen, but I wanted to do something special for...” her voice trailed off. "I don't even know her name."

Wolf wrapped his arms around her waist. “Building a birdhouse is thoughtful of you.”

“She was a kind woman. She was protecting an injured man even though she was hurt and tired and the thaumaturge exploited that and I - I wish he hadn’t used me to get to her.”

His arms still wrapped around her he gently rocked Scarlet back and forth. “So you’re building a birdhouse in her memory?”

“Yes, I want to honour her memory in a peaceful way that encourages life.”

“And maybe we’ll get to listen to the birds sing as they thank you for the birdhouse.”

“As they thank _her_.” Scarlet corrected.

“Mmhmm.” He mumbled into her hair. “Hey, do you want a big strong man to hammer the nails for you?”

Scarlet wrestled out of his grip and lightly bonked him on the head with the butt of the hammer. “Fat chance you!” She placed her hands on her hips, “I was the one who grew up on a farm, I’m a heck of a lot better at this than you!”

He reached out and placed his hand over her hand that was gripping the hammer. “But I thought I should show you like this!” He raised the hammer over the nail and brought it down, missing.

“Stop you big brute!” She laughed, “if I left you in charge we’d hammer someone’s thumb!”

* * *

The following spring a pair of birds built a nest in the birdhouse and laid eggs. Scarlet and Wolf checked on them everyday.

Today Wolf was out tending to farm chores. His heightened hearing picking up on a cracking sound.

“Scarlet!” He shouted, and then thought better of it. He raced to the house where Scarlet was completing chores of her own. He grabbed her hand and whisked her outside and plopped her in front of the birdhouse.

“Listen.”

She did. The eggs were hatching! Wolf picked her up and placed her on his shoulders so she could see better. Together they watched three baby birds poke their heads out into the world for the first time.

And for the first time in a long time Scarlet felt deep in her heart that she was going to be ok too.

* * *

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I read The Lunar Chronicles for the first time is past summer and I LOVED IT! It was so much fun. I have mad respect for Marisa Meyer and the way she was able to craft such a wonderful story with complex and fun characters. I only wished for a little more angst in final book since no one died and I think angst is a good trade-off. And who better for an angst fic than Scarlet and Wolf? Who I think had it the toughest throughout the series.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed. ^-^


End file.
